Re: Not Enough To Be A Gentleman

Rudy Olano
Lincoln Lodge No. 34

Be careful to argue with a fool, bystanders might not recognize the difference.  Taking a chance to be identified with one, I just can't resist..... 

Mr Villegas,

      Your personal concern and sense of responsibility in saving your military friends souls from eternal damnation is a noble effort worthy of your nomination for Catholic sainthood.  As I understand the process will require you to perform a miracle and some waiting time which can be waived if you're a close buddy of the guy in charge.  Anyway, your moral obligation to speak for the truth flies into your face since you don't know what you are talking about.  I could assure you that no atheist can be a Mason, a belief in a Supreme Being is a requirement.  Our fraternity is composed of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhist, etc.  We co-exist without a problem because we RESPECT each other beliefs. 

      Before Crusades, Jews, Muslims and Christians can visit Jerusalem to pay their homage to their respective Deity until someone got greedy and wanted to claim it all.  Now, we don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out, don't we?  The term fundamentalist is not a proprietary label to bin Laden group but it can also appropriately labeled to you and your soul-saving friars such as the bishop of Mati.

      Judging your email address, you are somewhat connected to some learning institution, may be you should find the connection and influence of Freemasonry to the Philippine Revolution---the one with names  like, Aguinaldo, Rizal, Mabini, Luna Brothers, maybe you will find that the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the Philippines last name is Quezon, you know---Manuel or Manny in modern times.

      If there is bigotry here all you have to do is look into the mirror.  You military friends did not join due to "peer pressure."   They joined the Craft and left you out because they know what they are getting into.  They did it because it is of their own free will and accord. So spare us with your idea of being self appointed saver/patron saint of Catholic military officers and gentlemen.  Go read Philippine History and maybe you'll at least say thank you to the men who fought for a notion so Pilipino people can govern their own country for better or worse, instead of being ruled by a King buttressed by your catholic church.

-- In glphils@yahoogroups.com, Benny Ty <dynapak2001@y... wrote:
Today's Colored Picture in the Manila Bulletin....?

Was the Above Undertaking Contrived By Wisdom?
http://www.mb.com.ph/OPED2005052035096.html

Not enough to be a gentleman

Bernardo M Villegas

THERE are many honorable people, especially in the military, who are attracted to Freemasonry because of its emphasis on such human virtues as integrity, loyalty, industry, and generosity. Mostly through lack of doctrinal formation in their faith, these well-intentioned individuals are given the impression that being a Mason is compatible with being a Catholic. After all, they say Masonry only helps them to be real gentlemen and officers.

Since I owe it to my friends in the military to tell them the whole truth, I must remind them that Freemasonry - no matter how watered down - is irreconcilable with the Catholic faith. I can only quote verbatim from a Declaration of the Commission on the Doctrine of the Faith of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, signed by Archbishop Pedro R. Dean, Archbishop of Palo and Chairman of the Commission: "In 1983, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a statement, approved by Pope John Paul II, to the effect that membership in Masonic associations remains forbidden. It said that Catholics who enroll in such associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion. "In 1990, the Bishops of the Philippines declared that `any Catholic who is publicly known as Mason, i.e., whose membership in any Masonic Association can be proven in the external forum:

a) may not receive Holy Communion;

b) may not be allowed to act as sponsor in baptism, confirmation, and weddings;

c) may not be admitted as member of religious organizations;

d) church funeral rites may be denied unless some signs of repentance before death has been shown;

e) where church funeral rites were allowed by the Ordinary, no Masonic services shall be allowed in the church or cemetery immediately before or after the church rites in order to avoid any public scandal.' "These penalties reflect the serious irreconcilable points between Christian faith and the philosophy of Masonry. Just to mention some main Masonic tenets:

a) God is `the great architect' of the world but He leaves it on its own: Thus we cannot speak of God revealing Himself to man in history;

b) Much less could we speak of God revealing Himself in the person of Jesus Christ;

c) Jesus Christ's divinity has no place in Masonic philosophy: He was a good man, that's all;

d) There is no objective truth in morals and doctrine: That would be bigotry;

e) Thus, one religion is as good as any other;

f) In the end, man's perfection is not to be found in his love for a personal God, but only in the development of his natural powers; man has an immortal soul but has no supernatural destiny. "Catholics who want to join any association need first to study deeply its philosophy. In the case of Masonry, the decision of a Catholic to join it must first take into account the reasons why the church, since the 18th century, has kept a negative judgment towards it. In doing so, the church is not persecuting anybody; in her difficult service to the truth, the church is guided by only one principle - the good of souls, here and hereafter."

I know that many of my friends in the military joined the Freemasonry out of peer pressure and with camaraderie in mind. They were attracted to the humanitarian and fraternal principles enunciated by the Masonic sects to which they were invited to be members. But if they want to remain as Catholics in good standing they must listen to the doctrinal guidance of the bishops who are united with the Pope in declaring the absolute incompatibility between the principles of Freemasonry and the teachings of Jesus Christ as contained in the Catholic Church which He founded. For comments, my e-mail is bvillegas@uap.edu.ph.